15% of big US chain restaurant locations were in hurricane-exposed areas

America’s publicly-traded restaurant chains had 13,000 locations, or 15% of total units, in hurricane-exposed areas, according to Credit Suisse’s Jason West. And this could spell more bad news for the already-ailing quick serve and casual dining group.

Some big chains like Starbucks (SBUX)—with 700 stores currently closed related to the hurricane—have large store counts in the impacted regions. But analysts say the real downside risk is associated chains where a large percentage of their units are in the path of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma—namely, Houston-area in Texas and Florida.

Analysts acknowledge the storm impact could be temporary, but warn there could be more significant disruptions long-term with the storm surge and massive amounts of rain.

“More store closure days equals more impact,” according to Piper analyst Nicole Miller Regan. “Flooding tends to lead to that, whereas a wind storm potentially has relatively less impact if doors reopen more quickly.”

Pollo Tropical (Wikimedia Commons)

Chain restaurants were already challenged

Meanwhile, rising gas prices could have a lasting impact. Prices at the pump have risen over 15% over the past few weeks, according to West, which could keep people from driving to and spending at restaurants.

All of this comes as the industry struggles to attract customers. Industry-wide, same-store sales (SSS) fell 2% in August.